


Golden Glass

by LovelyLunacy



Category: League of Legends
Genre: F/M, Odd Thomas Anyone?, Taken Down, Then Reposted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 21:07:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17885246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLunacy/pseuds/LovelyLunacy
Summary: They were freeing magic, just like she had always wanted.





	Golden Glass

Crystal shards rained around him in a glittering storm, and Rakan reveled in it. The color, the vibrance, casting glimmers of wavering light along his feathers. There was so much beauty in the destruction - not quite as beautiful as he was, of course, but still mesmerizing.

 

He turned to look for Xayah, calling, “Miella, we did it! Magic, free as it should be!” but she wasn’t there. His eyes jerked around, searching in the beginning hints of panic, but he saw her across the room, speaking to one of the members of their little brigade.

 

Others. They had taken years to find other Vastaya for the cause and the ragtag band had grown from the two of them up to ten. They were freeing magic so rapidly now and he could feel the land growing stronger every day that passed. Every moon or so, they had brought down another of these shrines.

 

They were different each time, but it was always some old stone building, full of dust that he’d have to clean off later. There was always the magic being absorbed into the stone inside, the giant crystal near the ceiling. But each one they heard of, they broke, and then magic was once again unfettered. He grinned - Xayah had said that once and he’d liked the phrasing.

 

“Rakan, where are we headed next?” Distracted from gazing at his lady love, the golden Vastaya turned to the smaller one, an emerald-eyed girl with copper scales and impressive fangs. He didn’t want to get on her wrong side - Xayah had said this one exceeded at stealth. How dull. What was a fight without a grand entrance?

 

“Whatcha need?” He asked, flashing what he knew was a winning smile. He’d already forgotten the question she asked.

 

“Where are we headed next?” She repeated and there was the beginnings of… sympathy? Pity? Something strange on the snakey Vastaya’s face. Kit! That was her name. Kitlalli. He was pleased that he remembered.

 

“I don’t really know, Kit. Another road, another horizon? This is more Xayah’s forte than mine.” He shrugged. “She’ll tell us though. She’s got the plan.”

 

The look was full-blown now, but Kit gave him a returning nod. “We should make camp then - all of the guardians of this shrine are dead.”

 

“Sounds good to me,” his attention returned to where Xayah had been before, but she’d vanished again. “Damn it, Xayah, where are you?” He mumbled, starting to look amongst the brigade, some of which were already setting up tents, but it occurred to him that if he set up the tent now, then Xayah wouldn’t have to later.

 

Singing to himself, gleeful at his helpful plan, he started setting up their tent. He frowned when one of Xayah’s feathers fell out of the bedroll as he was setting it up. It wasn’t like her to leave weapons just laying around… he picked it up, noticing that the feather was faded with age, dusty, damaged. Something about it made his heartrate escalate, the edges of fear creeping into his mind. He shook his head to clear it, finished setting up the bedroll, and went to look for Xayah.

 

He hadn’t found her for about an hour and he could feel the others in the brigade watching him. They all looked like Kit - that expression on their faces. What was up with them?

 

He went back to the tent, confused, and when he opened the flap, he saw her. She was settled in the bedroll, scribbling on one of her writing pads. Planning again.

 

“There you are, Miella!” He chirped, slipping into the tent. She offered him a bright smile, one he knew she never gave to anyone else, and returned to the writing.

 

“That was great, right? The dash into the burly guard, I used him to get up to the crystal. Broke it  _real good_. Didn’t I?”

 

She was nodding, a distracted half-smile on her face. He felt put-out for a moment and he frowned, then he started to reach for her, with his usual, “Darling, pay attention to me,” but there was scratching on the tent flap. An exasperated noise, he moved to the opening, popping out in front of Karlan. Ape Vastaya - Rakan thought that age hadn’t been kind to the older one, but he’d managed not to say anything on accident yet.

 

“What is it?”

“What’s the plan, Rakan?” Karlan demanded, brows furrowed over deep-set eyes. “We need a plan for sunrise.”

“Oh, that’s more Xayah than it is me. I’ll go ge-”

“Rakan,” there was pain on the ape’s face now. He set a hand on the younger’s shoulder. “Rakan, you… you have to let her go. You can’t… Xayah is  _dead_ , Rakan.”

 

The phoenix-feathered Vastaya straightened, outrage on his face, then his eyes went distant.

 

_It was going so well. She had gone inside the shrine, but he’d taken down all the pesky shadow ninja. He’d entertained himself, dancing around them in golden splendor, making the most magnificent show of it. As he always did. Then he heard a noise inside - steel on feather, scraping, fighting. She was fighting alone._

 

 _He dashed towards the shrine, needing to get inside, needing to get to her. He needed to protect her._  

 

“I don’t know what…”

 

_Inside, he saw the place littered with glittering feathers. She had set up a beautiful mine field - her positioning perfect and exact. Rakan still didn’t know how she planned in the heat of battle - he just winged everything, with style. But every feather ended up where it needed to be. She was so talented._

 

“I don’t know… what you’re… talking about…”

 

_He’d noticed the feathers in just a second, but then his eyes found Xayah. She was down on one knee, and one of the ninja was arcing towards her in a smear of red and black._

 

_He had to get to her! He jolted forward, movements desperate, reaching out for her. He saw the feather canopy beginning to glow. All at once, they came rushing back, tearing through the crystal and the ninja._

 

_As the chaos cleared, he started helping her up. He couldn’t remember how he reached her, just that he had, and he was so relieved that -_

 

“No.” His own voice came dully, correcting himself.

 

_She was on the ground, blood flowing from the wound through her neck. Rubies covering the floor. Just a little distance away, the ninja was a pin cushion. He was dead, but so… so was… so was she._

 

_He collapsed beside her body, reaching out shakily for her. The world was blurring as he gathered her smaller form into his arms, feeling her lifeblood begin to cover him. It didn’t matter… none of it mattered. Not without her._

 

_All of her determination, her love, her vitality - the light that had drawn him to her, that fire burning within her. Ended by a shadow ninja. He didn’t even have vengeance to take - she’d killed her killer. He had… nothing._

 

_Shaking, sobbing, he tried to gather anything to console him and out of her pocket fluttered a piece of paper. On it was a plan - rumors to other shrines, plans to take those down too._

 

_Her mission… her mission had been to free magic and it was unfinished. With a shuddering sob, he felt a temporary surge of determination in his chest. It couldn’t remain unfinished - he had to complete it for her. He… he had to, or else this meant nothing._

 

Karlan was watching the younger Vastaya clutching his head, half-sobbing, half-mumbling to himself. He’d become a brilliant leader - but he was insane. He spoke to a ghost none of them could see.

 

“You didn’t…. You didn’t tell him again?!” Kit’s voice made Karlan flinch, though Rakan didn’t notice or hear either of them, too caught in his anguish.

“He was… It’s just so…”

“Leave him be, Karlan! It’s all he’s got!” The snake dragged him away from the golden charmer, towards the fire the rest of them sat around. She gave a sharp look to the others gathered and everyone focused on anything else, and avoided glancing at their insane leader.

She watched him though and after the sobbing subsided, he returned to the tent. She sighed heavily and turned her eyes to the flames. It was so, so tragic.

 

“Xayah, where to next?” Rakan asked, glancing at the Vastaya on the bedroll. She hadn’t looked up from her writing. With a heavy sigh, he laid back and closed his eyes. It felt like she never talked to him anymore, he thought as he finally drifted off.


End file.
